The Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe

This is where the excitement begins. Spend an hour or visit for the entire day. Open Monday thru Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00

Welcome to the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe located in historic downtown Trenton, the heart of North Central Florida's Gilchrist County. The Quilt Shoppe is in a 1925 Coca Cola Bottling Plant, home to over 7,000 bolts of fabric, an extensive selection of quilting supplies and a tin ceiling library where customers can relax by the fireplace in comfortable chairs while while viewing an extensive selection of Christmas fabric and choosing from dozens of quilt books.

Our staff of friendly quilting experts looks forward to discussing your quilting projects and invites you to bring a past project or what you are currently working on to share.

A Brief Tour of The Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe

Front Entrance to the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe and the Suwannee Rose Cafe

Quilting Classes

"Anything Goes" with Lyn White

Every Wednesday from

10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Classes are $25 per session

"Sit and Sew" with Karen Brake (Right) & Claire Batchelder (Left)

The fourth Saturday of each month from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Classes are free

"Fabric Collage" with Joyce Marie

Classes are $25 per session and

Kits are $35 for the Beginners Session &

$10 for the Intermediate Session.

Future class dates will be announced after the Quilt Festival

Pattern this Sat is Waffle Time Karen & Claire's Sit & Sew

An Applique Sample from the Class Book

The Class Book for Applique'

Waffle Time Saturday June 23rd

"Fabric Collage" with Joyce Marie

Fabric Collage with Flowers

The flowers and plants provide a terrific hiding place for the armadillo

Hanky Panky Class

Have you ever wondered what to do with those beautiful old delicate lace hankies? Joyce will give you some great ideas.

Fabric Collage with a Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is the Quilt Shoppe's Logo and just look what Joyce can teach you to do with it.

Lyn White's Anything Goes Class Every Wednesday

Mary using the classroom's custom made flannel covered design wall

Lyn White's Tuffet Class

Tuffets Can Be Personalized in a Wide Variety of Colors

SVQS 2018 SVQS Tuffet Class Schedule

Classes are Tuesdays from 10am – 4 pm

Instructor class fee $ 80.00 Covers both days

April 17 and 24, 2018

June 12 and 19, 2018

September 18 and 25, 2018

Individual classes and Group Classes may be scheduled at separate times.

Tuffet Making Class

Lyn White will be teaching several Tuffet classes a year where you will learn to make this footstool like Little Miss Muffet used. You will finish the class with a piece of furniture that you will cherish for many years and pass down to your children – if they don’t talk you out of it first!

The class involves a two day session over two weeks with homework to be completed before the second class. The first class will teach how to work with your pattern and adhesive backed foundation: how to adhere it to the thin muslin, how to sort your Jelly Roll or packet of 2 ½” strip sets into 8 pleasing sets (make sure your strip set or jelly roll includes a minimum of 32 pieces WOF), how to sew your 2 ½” strips onto the foundation, how to use your Add-A-Quarter ruler to trim and how to finish off each of the 8 segments. During the week between the classes, you will finish sewing all 8 segments. We will work with these segments during the second class.

The second class will include: sewing the 8 segments together to complete the tuffet top, making the button, preparing your tuffet top to finish your tuffet, putting the tuffet top on the base, adhering the top to the base and achieving the singular look of the Tuffet shape, attaching the button to make the dimple correctly, and finishing up your tuffet professionally. You will use power tools and hand tools to complete the project.

You will be so proud of your completed tuffet and your friends and relatives will be amazed at your prowess.

Our Pet Friendly Patio

Our Arbor covered patio is great for pet lovers who want to eat outdoors on those beautiful spring and fall days. The patio is in honor of our beloved Golden Retriever, Meghan, who greeted customers for over ten years from the time the Quilt Shoppe opened in 2003 until her passing, May 29th of 2013.

The Suwannee Rose Cafe' Staff at our 2017 Christmas Party

Mikeah & Tracy,

Deer Ragena (Cafe' Manager & Baker), and

Sisters, Autum & Summer

The Happy Days Old Time Soda Fountain in the Quilt Shoppe

The Happy Days Old Time Soda Fountain is a vintage soda fountain and ice cream parlor. To preserve this precious part of Trenton's history, the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe (Stephanie) and Best Drugs (Larry) worked together to arrange a sale of the soda fountain and marble counter while Walgreens was in the process of negotiating to purchase Best Drugs. The marble counters, were manufactured by Robert M. Green and Sons in the 1920s. The Soda Fountain, is a Bastian-Blessing "All Dry Superior Bobtail" manufactured over 60 years ago in July of 1950. One of the interesting historical facts about the soda fountain counter is that it was made by Robert M. Green who is the man credited with inventing the ice cream soda in 1874. The counter still proudly displays Robert M. Green's original manufacturer's nameplate.

Join us for lunch and top it off with an ice cream treat while spending the day shopping and getting help with your fabric selection or current project from our friendly staff of quilting experts.

Long-Arm Machine Quilting by Karen Alberts

Karen Alberts, retired ship captain and abalone diver.

Karen Alberts

Karen Alberts (a retired ship captain and abalone diver) brings a wide variety of sewing skills, quilting skills and machine quilting experience that will ensure outstanding consultation and service for her customers. Karen offers a choice of over two thousand edge to edge patterns. Call her on her mobile phone at (850) 672-0433 or if she is not available try the Quilt Shoppe phone at (352) 463-3842 and arrange to stop by the Quilt Shoppe to discuss your project.

Sally Criswell - International Cross Stitch Expert

Suwannee Valley Cross Stitch founder, Sally Criswell, is the full time owner-manager of Suwannee Valley Cross Stitch. Sally initially established the cross stitch business when she opened a satellite store in 2003 at the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe. In June of 2004 Sally sold her primary retail outlet in Gainesville, Florida and committed her full time effort to Suwannee Valley Cross Stitch.

Sally is a nationally recognized cross stitch leader and is the former owner of Cross Stitch and More in Gainesville. Her previous shop was one of the 10 largest cross stitch shops in the nation with over 75,000 leaflets and hundreds of stitched models. Sally has studied needlework and lace making in Italy and has taught at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She has also taught classes to shop owners at needlework markets throughout the country and currently offers several weekend camps for stitchers, even cruises! Sally has an online email newsletter which goes out periodically announcing new classes and planned events. She has many monthly clubs, which she mails to stitchers around the world. Sally appraises needlework for major insurance companies as well as offering classes in Pulled Thread, Hardanger, and Blackwork as well as Counted Cross Stitch. Sally has served on the National Board of The International Retailers Guild and placed 1st in the nation for "Creative Framing". She is the mother of 8 children and grandmother to many more. Visit Sally to say "Hello" and sign up for her email newsletter.

X-Stitch Classes at the Florida Quilt Museum and Quilt Shop

Class Schedule

Stitch-In's Every Wednesday at The Florida Quilt Museum $3.00 Donation Per Participant to The Museum

EGA meets the 2nd Saturday of each month at The Florida Quilt Museum

Crabapple Hill meets the 3rd Saturday of each month at The Quilt Museum

Join Sally on Saturday, June 16th to make an "Under The Sea" pincushion or Needlebook. Cost is $15.00 each plus $3.00 Class Fee. This is a class Sally recently taught at the Sun Region Seminar for EGA. You'll learn Drizzle Stitch, Cast on Stitch, Bullion Stitch, and so many more as you create this darling "CRAZY QUILTED" "SEAWEED" PINCUSHION. The base is already crazy quilted, so you don't need your sewing machines.

We'll also be having our Crab-apple Hill Stitching at the same time, so join us and finish up this project or start another one. Lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Suwannee Rose Cafe. Hope you can join Sally & Friends at the Quilt Museum from 10:00 till around 3:00PM...Visiting and stitching is always welcome...$3.00 donation to Museum...Hope to see you there.

Coming Soon - Don't Miss This Spectacular Class!!!

A Vintage Button Christmas”

Join Sally for her annual holiday party celebrating the “vintage button”.

Did you ever wonder why we have Pie-Crust Buttons, Inkwell Buttons, Hob-Nail Buttons, Dorset Buttons, or Saucer Buttons or what they look like?

This will be a fun filled day with lunch included and a few other “Button Projects”. I’m not sure if you’ll complete all the projects I have in mind for you, but instructions will be very clear, and I’ll walk you through each project so you can finish each one.

Vintage Sampler Pages, Stitch Roll-Ups, Vintage Knitting Sampler Roll ups and my personal Button Sampler will all be shared on this day. You’ll be so inspired to want to make your Vintage “Button Book” and fill it up with all the great buttons you’ll be collecting!

The Crystal Ice House Has Been Sold Effective April 6th

The Crystal Ice House is a 1925 structure located adjacent to the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe and once furnished ice for the Coca Cola Bottling operations. Renovations were completed on this wonderful old building March 1, 2010.

It was previously home to Karen’s Long Arm Machine Quilting andSally’s Suwannee Valley Cross Stitch, plus a good selection of Antiques and Collectibles.

Karen has relocated to a cozy room in the Quilt Shoppe closer to all of the action. See her new set up below.

Sally's Suwannee Valley Cross Stitch will hold her free Sit and Stitch events on Wednesdays at The Florida Quilt Museum as well as her Specialty Classes in the new Quilt Shoppe Classroom or the Florida Quilt Museum depending on subject matter and class size.

The Embroidery Guild of America (EGA) meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month at The Florida Quilt Museum.

The Florida Quilt Museum and The Florida Quilt Trail

The Florida Quilt Museum and the Headquarters for The Florida Quilt Trail are both located in the Wade Building, which is a restored 1910 Dry Goods Store that once sold horse collars and coffins. This building is adjacent to the South side of Trenton's historic turn of the century rail-road depot. Many of the antiques used to display the vintage quilts are also for sale.

The Florida Quilt Trail with Twenty Cities & Over 100 Blocks Starts Right Here in Trenton at the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe